avoiding the sun, but I don't want to! | Arthritis Information

I'm on MTX and the doc has warned me about the sun. Well, I am a gardener and I know there are going to be problems next summer, but that can wait. What I'm concerned about now is our upcoming trip (5 days and counting) to Arizona. I will be golfing (what I call golfing anyway!) and out all day long, including afternoons. I avoid summer sun between noon and two, but my winter-white skin will be exposed in Arizona. What, pray tell, is going happen? Am I just more likely to get a sunburn? Will I get a horrible rash? Will my face explode? I probably should have asked but frankly, the trip seemed like a long ways off in January, but it's here now. Definitely wear all kinds of sunscreen and a hat. Bring a light coverup. I have gone on beach vacations and after two days of SPF 60 suncreen, hat and an umbrella I could not sit in the sun any longer. I had gotten sun poisoning and my arms were all swollen.

Continue to avoid sun between 10 and 2 if possible.I didn't find I had any problems being in the sun. However you are supposed to be cautious and use sunscreen. Apparently we are more prone to skin cancer. I continued to lay out and get tan but try to do it from 3 to 5 PM. I may be throwing caution to wind but I feel so good in the sun and I just get so tired of having to give up things I love.I never had any problems with MTX and the sun either. In fact, it made this blonde haired, green eyed women tan like crazy....No burning, just a deep tan

Have fun on your trip!

thanks for posting this.. I was so curious about this very thing... I'll be in Miami in March and April and I want to sit on the BEACH!!!!! I love it... It's a huge part of me.. the BEACH!!

this blue eyed woman is going to enjoy it........ alot.

Miami! You lucky girl! Make sure you have a Mojito and a Cuban sandwich for me! Soak up the sun on the beach and enjoy that turquoise sea!I'm not on mtx anymore, but I am on a number of different meds that can cause photosensitivity and for me it's pretty bad because the effect is cumulative. I wear 80 SPF, try not to go out for sun activities before 3 or 4 pm, wear a hat and sunglasses, try to stay in the shade as much as possible, and I still have times where I get massive hives and rashes, and if it gets bad enough, fluish symptoms. If you don't know how you will respond, start by getting only a small amount of sun and increase each time from there.

A friend of mine swears that taking calcium lactate (specifically that kind) every day for at least a week in advance if not longer will help prevent the reactions. I have found that since supplementing with vitamin D (I was deficient), my reactions have been less severe.

Hope everyone enjoys their trips and enjoys their time in the sun.

Been on MXT for about 4 years and also live half the year in the tropics. I also golf several times a week, go to the beach and pool and I haven''t had a problem with the sun. I use 30 and 50 sun screen due to skin cancer but I can't stay out of the sun. Enjoy your vacation and don't worry. LindyThanks, everyone. I should have said that up till now I get a tan and never burn. Hess and Inner, do you have pale skin anyway, or did you begin having problems when you started the drugs? I will wear sunblock but I refuse to wear a hat, I look like a neanderthal troll in every hat I've ever tried. Not pretty when little children run screaming from me.
LinB and Want, I don't blame you, I can't stay out of the sun either. Lynn49, I am thrilled to read of a GOOD thing via MTX - tanning.
Thanks for the good wishes, all. Babs, you have fun in Miami. Sounds like you're going about the time I'll be getting back. First Sedona, where I've never been, then Phoenix for golf. Bought some ace bandages and intend to strap up my wobbly wrists in an attempt to cure my slice!Blue- I also got a deep tan last year and like I said I only tan during the hrs. of 3 and 5 so I was surprised. I am 1/2 Italian and get my skin from that side however.Probably your biggest worry should be cumulative, like IG said and you sure don't want to burn. Using sunscreen should do the trick. I think big straw hats and shades and a big white or light cover-up are sexy!!! Go for it! Blue-

I am quite fair and can burn easily anyway but nothing like while I was on MTX. In fact I was on both plaquenil and MTX at the same time so it could have been either of them that caused the photosensitivity.

I am no longer on either now and noticed a BIG difference with the sun. I can definitely stay out in it longer with no problem.

thanks for these great words AND great vacation wishes...

I was a sun worshipper.. I used 8 or higher SPF but I could sit on the beach.. people watch and surf watch all day long.......... Only once did I have any issue and that was six years ago in Virginia Beach... I bubbled up on my forearms!

In the last two years, I've avoided any length of time in the sun.. so, I guess this could be the test....??? I'll use 30 spf at the least...... and wear a hat.... caftan to cover up w/ ..... great ideas...

Waddie, I like your new icon a lot more. For some reason that eye creeped me out!I can not say I have had any problems. I don't just sit out in the sun to sit out in the sun. I garden, I walk and I am an artist doing outside art shows all summer. I do sit under my tent--sometimes and I do use sunscreen--sometimes. I find I do not burn any faster than before--in fact I have not burned at all--tanned but no burn. I realy don't see any difference. Don't do anything dumb but remember the sunshire provides vit D which everyone needs. You need some. Well, my story is this...I have always had fair skin, but when I was young, I was able to tan perfectly, never getting a sunburn. When I reached 16, I developed depression and obsessive compulsive disorder. Once they started me on the anti-depressants, my skin began to get sensitive to the sun (even after discontinuing them). When the fibro started 8 years ago and I began NSAID's and such, the sensitivity got worse. When the RA started and I began biologics, the sensitivity got to the point of scaring me...with hives all over, terrible itching, anti-histamines barely making a dent, flu-like symptoms. Also, the reaction doesn't always occur right away, sometimes it begins hours after I've left the sun, or occasionally even the next morning.

So in my case there is certainly a cumulative effect from all my meds, but the RA meds definitely increased the problem more than the others. Now that I take all my precautions, the reaction is fairly minor.

So use your judgment, try out a small period in the sun first, but go enjoy yourself!

I'll be really careful the first few days. Thanks everyone. Like everything else, we're all different.thank YOU, Bluehour for asking! Hope you have a great trip.. stiffen up that swing!! ;)I noticed another important thing--we are from all over the place. I am in the Northeast, someone else was from New Mexico. The amount of sun--even in a good summer--is much different than someone from the southern states. I would be much more careful in the sunnier areas. sunscreen, bit hat, and get some clothes that have sun protection. LLBean online, they have some great stuff.

I go to the beach, all wrapped up in a tent...but at least I'm at the beach.

I had a very painful deep rash from exposed skin...MTX, blonde, blue eyes....be careful. Have had better luck since I started wearing the long sleeve sun protection clothes

I wear long sleeves and a hat along with jeans.
I'd rather be safe than sorry..

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